Echinodorus delicate got its name for its appearance. Indeed, its thickets resemble a soft, fluffy carpet, which you want to touch with your hand. Sometimes it is called grassy, its leaves really resemble grass on the lawn. However, this species is a grass.
Many aquarists also know it under the name “dwarf amazon”. Echinodorus tenellus really resembles an Amazon in miniature. Echinodorus tender will help you realize your most daring design ideas. The grass is unpretentious, can be recommended even to novice amateur aquarists.
| kingdom | Plants |
| Division | Covered seeds |
| class | Annuals |
| order | Passionflowers |
| Family | Chastukhovs |
| genus | Echinodorus |
| species | Echinodorus tenellus |
Habitat.: Echinodorus tenderis is widely distributed in freshwater bodies of northern, central, as well as southern America.
Echinodorus delicate Description
This is probably the lowest-growing species of the genus. It rarely reaches a height of ten centimeters. Usually its leaves are about five centimeters long. The leaf plate is narrow – about five millimeters.
Leaves are lanceolate in shape, narrowed at the bottom and pointed at the top. Leaves are gathered in a root rosette. In good light it has a light green, emerald color. Reproduces both vegetatively and by seeds. It grows year-round without seasonal dependence.
Echinodorus delicate Aquarium maintenance
Echinodorus tenellus is not very demanding to keeping conditions. As already mentioned, this herb is distributed in nature over a vast area in water bodies with very different habitat parameters. But it likes fresh transparent environment and bright lighting.
Aquarium volume
It is a low plant, located on the bottom, is demanding of water transparency, so that it receives the maximum amount of light. If the height of the aquarium is large, it may lack the light that reaches him through the water column. But behind the glass is not high aquariums, the height of twenty to fifty centimeters will feel quite comfortable.
Soil
The soil layer can be as thin as two to three centimeters. This thickness will be sufficient for the roots of such a small plant to develop normally. The soil should be fine-grained and well silted. If the soil will be coarse fractional, then Echinodorus delicate will form irregular thickets. And if you plant it in a new place with unstable soil, it is desirable to put a small piece of clay or boiled peat under the bush.
Environmental parameters
To the environmental conditions of Echinodorus tender is very not demanding. The temperature can vary from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius. However, the optimal temperature for it can be considered 22-24 ° C. The water hardness should be an average of 8 – 15 °dH. Although Echinodorus tenellus can withstand quite large fluctuations in the salt content of the water, but if the water is very soft, its green mass can collapse. This is probably due to a lack of minerals. Acidity, too, can fluctuate considerably. It tolerates a pH of 6 to 8.
Lighting
What you should pay special attention to when growing this species is light. If there is not enough light, Echinodorus delicate will turn pale green and its leaves will stretch out strongly in search of light. The lighting should be provided by fluorescent lamps with a total power of at least
0.5 W/l. It is also desirable that the aquarium at least a couple of hours a day of sunlight. But it should be remembered that excessive illumination can cause rapid growth of algae, which settle on the leaf plate, hinder the access of light to it. The total duration of the daylight hours should be at least ten hours.
Filtration
Filtration of suspended fine particles is desirable. In a transparent, unclouded environment, the distribution of light rays is improved, and then the light more easily reaches the lower water horizon, where it is eagerly awaited by Echinodorus tenellus.
Echinodorus delicate Compatibility
Echinodorus tenellus does not like shade and therefore hardly tolerates the neighborhood of species floating on the surface of the water. It should also not be planted in the shade of other plants or you will have to increase the power of lighting devices, which is not always acceptable. Side lighting can sometimes be used.
Nutrition
Additional feeding is not necessary. The species is quite happy with the nutrients that enter the water body with fish food and with a weekly change of one fifth of the water.
Echinodorus delicate Breeding
In aquarium conditions is very well propagated vegetatively. Under good conditions, the mother bush forms two to three tendrils at the ends of which young shoots are formed. These shoots can be separated and transplanted to a new place after they have three to five leaflets.
Additional information
Echinodorus delicate can be kept in a humid greenhouse, paludarium and terrarium. It is suitable for the terrarium due to its resistance to trampling. The greenhouse conditions promote flowering, and if the resulting flowers are artificially cross-pollinated with a soft brush or absorbent cotton, then seeds are formed. Seeds take about a month and a half to mature and should be germinated in coarse river sand with a thin layer of water.
Echinodorus delicate is a small plant of small height. However, it can form dense thickets if the conditions are right for it. These thickets form a picturesque emerald lawn at the bottom of your pond. Due to its low height, Echinodorus tenellus will help you to decorate the foreground and middle ground of your aquarium. Not many plants can create such a dense, low thicket in the foreground as Echinodorus tenellus. If you want to cover bare ground with live plants, this species deserves your attention.
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